Spring unit lacing machine



March 27, 1962 A. TURLEY SPRING UNIT LACING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Oct. 5, 1959 March 27, 1962 A. TURLEY SPRING UNIT LACING MACHINE 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 5, 1959 /NV5NTOE PTTOEN V March 27, 1962 A.TURLEY 3,026,914

SPRING UNIT LACING MACHINE Filed Oct. 5, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Ame/v58.

United States Patent 3,026,914 SPRING UNIT LACING MACHINE Alfred Turley,Bushbury, Wolverhampton, England, as-

signor to Vono Limited, Tipton, England, a company of Great BritainFiled Oct. 5, 1959, Ser. No. 844,448 4 Claims. (Cl. 140-925) Thisinvention relates to a machine for lacing together coil springs to makeup a spring unit, such as the spring interior for a mattress, cushion orthe like, wherein parallel rows of springs are laced together at top andbottom by longitudinally extending wire helices which serve to connecttogether the coils of opposed springs in adjacent rows at top andbottom.

The present invention is concerned with improvements to a known type ofmachine hereinafter called the type referred to for carrying out theabove operation and which comprises an elongated lower frame and anelongated upper frame each carrying a plurality of clamping jawassemblies which are adapted to be adjusted longitudinally along theirrespective frames. Both frames, at one end have mechanism for formingand advancing a wire helix for the purpose of lacing together coilsprings clamped in position by the clamping jaws of the upper and lowerframes.

In this machine solenoids control automatically the stopping of the wirehelices advancing and the opening of the jaw assemblies when each helixhas completed its travel and, in operating the machine, two rows of coilsprings are inserted under compression between the jaws and the jaws arefully closed whereupon the wire helices start advancing through theclamping jaws to lace the two rows of springs together. Upon completionof the lacing the wire helices are cut off and at this stage theoperator has to manipulate the laced rows of springs to push them back adistance of one row whereupon a fresh row of springs is inserted in thejaws and the operation is repeated.

The object of the present invention is to provide improvements to thistype of machine which will simplify the operation of the machine andmake it more completely automatic.

According to the present invention I provide a machine of the type abovereferred to wherein there is provided mechanism for engaging a row ofsprings held in the jaw assemblies after a lacing operation has beenperformed and for moving said row of springs rearwardly a distance ofone row to allow a fresh row of springs to be inserted.

With the earlier machine above referred to, it was 'necessary to haltbetween each lacing operation to allow the operator to insert the freshrow of springs; in accordance with a further aspect to the presentinvention, such halting may be rendered unnecessary.

According to this further aspect of the invention, I provide a machineof the type above referred to wherein the jaw assemblies are formed orprovided with means for holding in position in the jaws a fresh row ofsprings whilst a previously positioned row is being laced to another rowand there being provided means, adapted to move into operation after thelacing has finished, to move the already laced row back by a distance ofone row and to advance the fresh row of springs into position in thejaws ready for a further lacing operation.

Each jaw assembly in the upper and lower frames may be provided on theentry side with an extended platform so that a fresh spring can bepositioned under compression in between an upper and lower platform withits top and bottom coils engaged over shoulders provided on suchplatforms inwardly from the outermost edge thereof.

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To move the already laced rows of springs rearwardly and to move thefresh row of springs into position, each jaw assembly may be providedwith a rotatable transporter member which may be in the form of anarcuate shaped finger pivoted about an axis parallel to the longitudinalaxis of the frame and movable from a retracted position into a positionto which it engages the end coils of the springs and moves themforwardly into the required position for the next operation.

Each jaw assembly may also include a slidable ejector member adapted tooperate to move the already laced spring coils out from between the jawsat the same time as the transporter member operates.

The various operations of closing and opening the jaws, moving thetransporter members and ejector members and the feeding and cutting offof the wire helices may be controlled by suitable clutches which may begoverned by solenoids and switches forming part of a fully automaticelectric control circuit. Means may also be provided for allowing manualoperation of the various controlling solenoids and also for allowingmanual operation of the clutches.

In order to illustrate the principal features of the invention thefollowing more detailed description is given of one form of jaw assemblyand associated members which has been constructed to carry out theinvention. A complete description of all the machine is not considerednecessary here as the other working parts of the machine as susceptibleof various changes and forms without affecting the parts with which theinvention is concerned. This example of the invention is illustrated inthe accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional end view through one set of upper and lower jawassemblies showing two springs in position for lacing together.

FIGURE 2 is a detail perspective view of the jaws removed from themachine.

FIGURES 3 and 4 are similar views of the lower jaw assembly showingstages in the operation of the machine.

FIGURE 5 is a plan view on FIGURE 4 showing two lower jaw assemblies.

FIGURE 6 is an end view of the complete machine.

The machine may he basically similar to the machine described in Britishspecification No. 653,021.

The upper jaw assemblies are similar to the lower ones so only thelatter are described in detail as it will be appreciated that the upperjaw assemblies occupy an inverted position as compared with the lowerones. FIG- URE 1 shows part of one end frame 10 of the machine and anupper and lower jaw assembly indicated generally at 11 and 12respectively.

Each lower jaw assembly comprises a main jaw body 13 which is mountedupon two spaced parallel shafts extending longitudinally between the endframe of the machine, the one shaft 1 4 which is adjacent the entry sideof the jaws being fixed in the end frames of the machine and the othershaft 15 which is on the discharge side being journa'lled in bearings inthe end frames.

In between the shafts 14 and 15 the jaw body has a recess 16 in which ismounted the jaws (17, 18), one being fixed (see 17) and the other beingslidable (see 18) and spring urged away from the fixed jaw, the two jawsbeing located by a pair of dowel pins 19 extending between them. Theslidable jaw 18 has a screw 20 extending from its rear and passingthrough a plate 21 fixed in the jaw body and having a spring 22 actingbetween the head of the screw and the plate 21 and urging the jaw 18into the open position. Means (not shown) act on the head of screw 20 tomove jaw 18 into the closed position (FIGURE 1) in timed relationshipwith the operator of the machine.

A third longitudinal shaft 23 is disposed between said two shafts 14 and15 and the transporter member for moving the springs is fixed upon thisshaft 23. Such transporter member comprises a radial arm 24 fixed at oneend to the shaft 23 and having fixed to its other end a transporterfinger 25 which is part of a ring (being about of a semi-circle) so thatthe movement of the finger 25 is in a circular path about the axis ofthe third shaft 23 and is guided by a curved face 26 formed internallyon the jaw body.

An ejector slide 27 is mounted in the jaw body for vertical slidingmovement into and out of the gap between the jaws 17, 18 (when open) andthis slide has a transverse hole 28 in which engages one end of a pin 29the other end of this pin being mounted in a collar 30 which is fixedupon the shaft 15 by a key 31.

The upper face of the jaw body, on the entry side, is formed as aplatform 32 which slopes outwardly and downwardly and its inner edgeterminates in a vertical face 33 which descends to a ledge 34 (seeFIGURE 4) on the jaw body; from this ledge 34 up to the recess 16 inwhich the jaws are mounted the upper face of the jaw body is in the formof an upwardly convex curved surface (i.e. the surface 26). The upperjaw body has the same form but, as will be seen, this is upside down ascompared with the lower jaw body.

The two platforms 32 (upper and lower) thus form an inwardly convergingthroat so that a coil spring 35 can be pushed under compression into thethroat until its top and bottom coils 36 spring over the vertical faces33 on the jaw bodies andcome to rest upon the ledges 34 where they willbe adjacent the top and bottom coils 37 of a previous spring 38 which isbeing held between the jaw assemblies with one side of each top andbottom coil 37 actually between the jaws and the other side of each topand bottom coil resting on the aforesaid ledges 34. There will also be athird spring 39 in'between the jaw assemblies, this third spring havingits top and bottom coils 40 also between the jaws and being over on thedischarge side.

Hence, while the two springs 38 and 39 which are actually in between thejaws are being laced together the fresh spring 35 can be pushed into thethroat and this can be done along the whole row of jaw assemblies sothat when lacing is completed there is a complete fresh row of springs35 ready in between the jaw assemblies.

When this position is reached the automatic operation of the machine cancontinue with the movement of the transporter fingers 25, operation ofthe ejector slides 27 and severing of the wire helices.

Referring now to FIGURE 6, at one end of the machine the shafts 23 and15 have fixed thereon quadrant gears 40 and 41 respectively. The lowerquadrant gear 40 which meshes with the upper one is oscillated by a link42 connected to the rod 43 which is connected to a crank 44 on a drivingshaft 45. The Lower quadrant gear 41 is oscillated by a bell crank 46connected to link 47 which is connected to a driving disc 48.

The means for moving the sliding jaws 18 into the closed positioncomprises upper and lower shafts 49 to which are fixed arms 50 actedupon by one arm 51 of a double-armed lever pivoted at 52 the other arms53 of this lever having a roller 54 which engages a cam 55 or cam shaft56. The arms 50 are held positively in the jaw-closed position by meansof releasable trip arms mounted upon shafts 57.

The members 45, 48, 56 and 57 are operated in timed relationshiptogether with the operation of the mechanism (not here shown) forforming and advancing the wire helices 58 (see FIGURES 3-5) which lacethe rows of springs together when held in the jaws.

It the position shown in FIGURE 1, the jaws are closed and the twosprings 38 and 39 are being laced together by the helices 58. Two rowsof springs which have already been laced are resting on the dischargetable 59 and a fresh row of springs 35 has been inserted between theplatforms 32.

After the lacing has been completed angular rotation of the shafts 23commences and moves the free ends of the fingers 25 which engage withthe spring coils 36, 37 resting on the ledges 34 of the jaw bodiescommence to push these coils toward the openings between the jaws (seeFIGURE 3). Shortly after commencement of this movement the ejectorelevating mechanism 48 is brought into operation and the ejector slides27 operate to move the already laced coils out from between the jaws(FIGURE 3) which have also been opened at this time by release of thetrip arms on shafts 57 Continued movement of the fingers 25 (FIGURE 4)results in the fresh springs 35 being brought in between the jaws whilsta row of laced springs is pushed out of the discharge side of the jawassemblies, whereupon the jaws close and the cycle of operations can berepeated with another fresh row of springs being placed in position forthe next succeeding operation.

What I claim then is:

1. In a spring unit lacing machine for lacing together coil springs intoa spring unit comprising an elongated lower frame and an elongated upperframe each carrying a plurality of clamping jaw assemblies for clampingtogether the end coils of two rows of springs held between the upper andlower jaw assemblies, each jaw assembly comprising a fixed jaw and aslidable jaw movable towards and away from the fixed jaw to respectivelyclose and open the jaws each frame having at one end mechanism forforming and advancing a wire helix for lacing together the end coils ofthe springs, means for opening and closing the jaw assemblies and meansfor severing the wire helices after a completed lacing operation, theimprovement comprising an outwardly extending platform on the entry sideof each upper and lower jaw assembly, said platforms forming inclinedsurfaces mutually converging inwardly towards the centre of the jawassemblies so that a spring is compressed when inserted between saidplatforms, a substantially vertically extending shoulder at the innerend of each such platform, said shoulders being engageable within theend coils of a fresh row of springs to hold in position between theupper and lower frames a fresh row of springs simultaneously with thelacing together of two rows of springs already positioned in and clampedbetween the jaws of the clamping jaw assemblies, a rotatable transportermeans in the form of an arcu ate-shaped finger associated with eachclamping jaw assembly, pivoted about an axis parallel to thelongitudinal axes of the frames, and means operable at the finish of alacing operation, to move said transporter means to engage the end coilsof the springs in said fresh row and also the end coils of the adjacentrow of springs so as to advance the two laced rows of springs forward bya distance of one row and bring the fresh row of springs into positionbetween the jaws of the clamping jaw assemblies.

2. In a spring unit lacing machine for lacing together coil springs intoa spring unit comprising an elongated lower frame and an elongated upperframe each carrying a plurality of clamping jaw assemblies for clampingtogether the end coils of two rows of springs held between the upper andlower jaw assemblies, each jaw assembly comprising a fixed jaw and aslidable jaw movable towards and away from the fixed jaw to respectivelyclose and open the jaws, each frame having at one end mechanism forforming and advancing a wire helix for lacing together the end coils ofthe springs, means for opening and closing the jaw assemblies and meansfor severing the wire helices after a completed lacing operation, theimprovements comprising an outwardly extending platform on the entryside of each upper and lower jaw as sembly, said platforms forminginclined surfaces mutually converging inwardly towards the centre of thejaw assemblies so that a spring is compressed when inserted between saidplatforms, a substantially vertically extending shoulder at the innerend of each such platform, said shoulders being engageable within theend coils of a fresh row of springs to hold in position between theupper and lower frames a fresh row of springs simultaneously with thelacing together of two rows of springs already positioned in and clampedbetween the jaws of the clamping jaw assemblies, a rotatable transportermeans in the form of an arcuate-shaped finger associated with eachclamping jaw assembly, pivoted about an axis parallel to thelongitudinal axes of the frames, and means operable at the finish of alacing operation, to move said transporter means to engage the end coilsof the Springs in said fresh row and also the end coils of the adjacentrow of springs so as to advance the two laced rows of springs forward bya distance of one row and bring the fresh row of springs into positionbetween the jaws of the clamping jaw assemblies, a vertically slidableejector member in each jaw assembly and means for advancing said ejectormembers inwardly to displace the laced end coils of the springs out frombetween the jaws of each jaw assembly simultaneously with the operationof the transporter means.

3. The improvement in a lacing machine according to claim 1, wherein thearcuate-shaped finger of each transporter means is fixed to the outerend of a radial arm mounted upon a shaft extending parallel to the axesof the frames, there being two such shafts, one for the upper jawassemblies and one for the lower jaw assemblies, each jaw assemblyhaving a ledge at the outer end of its substantially vertical shoulderand a curved surface extending inwardly from said ledge and being convextowards the space between the jaw assemblies, the end coils of saidfresh row of springs being positioned to rest upon said ledges and to beheld in position by said shoulders, and each said curved surface forminga guide for the movement of its associated arcuate-shaped finger. 4. Theimprovement in a lacing machine according to claim 2 wherein eachejector member is operated by an arm extending radially from a shaft andengaging in an aperture in the ejector member which is guided forvertical sliding movement between the jaws of its jaw assembly, therebeing two shafts, one for the upper jaw assemblies and one for the lowerjaw assemblies.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,275,209 Turgeon Mar. 3, 1942 2,286,326 Zimmerman et a1. June 16, 19422,470,812 Gauci et a1. May 24, 1949 2,925,099 Bergstrom Feb. 16, 1960

